Friday, August 19, 2011

The life of an author is full of angst. Well, at least my life is. I struggle to grasp hold of nebulous threads of inspiration and weave them into an artistic vision I hope will touch others. Then I worry about if I could have done it better. I stress over if I messed my commas up too badly. (Commas are my worst thing.) Then I wonder if anyone will read my books. If they do, I fret over if they liked them. I question if I am fulfilling my life purpose or should be devoting my energies elsewhere. I don't sleep enough or eat properly. I am antisocial. My world is my art and I often ask myself if all the sacrifices are worth it.

Then there are days like today. A fan surprised me with an artistic showcase of my work that features my books, reviews of what other people think of them, and interviews with me that I didn't even remember doing. It is extraordinary!

More than flattered, I am amazed that someone I don't even know would go to this much effort to honor my work. It'll make it easier to spend another eighteen hours tomorrow working on my new novel.

Monday, August 8, 2011

GLORY, Book One of my Legend of Glory urban fantasy series, features an intrepid demon-fighting Australian Shepherd named Hallelujah (Hallie to her friends). Hallie’s job is to protect the teenage heroine, Glory, from demons, vampires, and evil scientists. Hallie has extraordinary courage. She is the Wonder Woman of the canine crowd.

I am now writing the second book in the series, and a few months ago I put out a casting call for an evil dog to be Hallelujah’s perfect foil. All I can say is, wow, there sure are a lot of wicked dogs out there!

I received a ton of photos of wild- and crazy-looking dogs that inspired nightmares for weeks and gave me exciting new ideas for my paranormal-themed novels. It took me a while to make my decision, but...hold onto your bones...the winner is Cuddy, a red merle Australian Shepherd puppy. Yes, you heard me correctly—a puppy. (Consider the fictional possibilities!) Here she is:

I am going to have fun using this puppy to create the fictional canine character I have named Hex. Hex is the evil sidekick for the demoness Nyx and is the bane of Hallie’s existence. She will give puppies everywhere a bad name.

There were so many wonderfully wicked dogs who entered the contest that the final decision was tough. So, I may try to fit some of the runner-up dogs into the novel. Perhaps they will form a roaming pack of terror to rival the novel’s sinister collection of demons, vampires, and evil scientists.

Meet a hairless Chinese Crested known as “The Beast.” Her person, Lisa, cropped this photo from a larger one she calls “Beauty and the Beast." Lisa said she cut out the image of her other dog who, “looks like he is sad to have to deal with her.”

And here is Sassy, who is truly horrifying:

Last but not least is a Border Collie named Abigail:

According to their humans, these dogs are merely yawning or playing or being their usual sweet selves.